John 7:53–8:11 — "The Woman Caught in Adultery"

Churches of Christ acknowledge that John 7:53–8:11 is absent from the earliest manuscripts but do not exclude the passage from their canon or regard it as unimportant. The story of the woman caught in adultery is read in Churches of Christ, preached from the pulpit, and cited as authoritative for understanding Christ's mercy toward sinners and his stance against self-righteous judgment. Though textual scholars note the passage's late origin, Churches of Christ maintain that it belongs in the biblical tradition and conveys genuine apostolic teaching about Jesus.

This reflects the Restoration Movement's approach to textual criticism: rigorous scholarship is valued, but the church's received tradition and the spiritual authority of passages within the Christian community are also respected. The passage is typically included in Churches of Christ Bibles (sometimes with a bracketed note acknowledging its textual uncertainty), and it is treated as Scripture for the purposes of doctrine and practice. The manuscript evidence indicating a late addition does not, in the Church of Christ perspective, diminish the passage's canonical status or spiritual authority within the church.